Persona ~ Shadows of the Soul

[TheSequelReturns]

Time never waits.
It delivers all equally to the same end.

You, who wish to safeguard the future,
however limited it may be...

You will be given one year;

go forth without falter,
with your heart as your guide...


- Persona ~ Shadows of the Soul -

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1 Unread Message:

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From: The Oracle
Number: Unavailable

Subject: RE: [#0]

GooD morNinG . .

TodAy's evEnTS are AS FoLLOWs. :;

at 7:15 Am: Highland Academy Boarding School oPENS Its Doors To StarT tHe neW Year.

at 11:00 aM: FirsT lunch wiLl be serVed. Today's Menu includes ricE, ChiCken, and chocOlatE puDDing.

at 2:45 pm: Highland Acadamy's FirsT day will end with the sounding of the FinAL BELL.

at 9:12 PM: A blackOUt wILL hit the ENtirE dowNTown ARea.

at 11:39 pM: the blacKouT will enD. TwO fATALities WIll be Attributed to UNKNOWN causeS. The vicTimS BodIES will be Found tWistED InsidE ouT.

haVe a Nice DAy...

Message Received: August 8, 2011. 12:00 AM.

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- August 8, 2011 - 7:00 AM ~ Highland Academy Dormitory -

The first floor of the dormitory was packed with students. Most of the teenagers ran back and forth from the stairway to the entrance doors to the reception desk, struggling to make sure they had everything ready for the first day of classes. The others, the less academic ones, simply shuffled around on their way out, taking their time so as to arrive at class just barely on time as was their style. Individual conversations were everywhere in the room, wither it was from group of girls coming from the right side of the building (the girls side) or the boys coming from the left (the boys side). Each side had its own staircase, and the dorm consisted of four floors including the first, so there were still plenty of students coming down from the upper levels to keep this place active till right before the bell.

However, one topic seemed to dominate the conversations of the students. And it wasn't the usual topics of a student on their first day of classes. The one thing that seemed to be on everyone's mind was the strange text message that had been sent around at midnight last night.

"Yeah, its just so weird" a black haired girl was saying to her friends, "My dorm mate got the text, but I didn't." Her group was one of the loudest, so several others were listening in.

The black haired girls dorm mate, a blond with short-cut hair flipped out her cell to show the others in the group.

"That is so creepy." one of them said.

"Yeah, do you think its for real?" another asked.

The black haired girl spoke up again. "I don't know, but I guess we'll find out huh? If the stuff actually comes true I mean..." her voice trailed off as she lost a bit of her confidence.

"It could just be a teacher or someone trying to prank us." the blond girl said as she put her cell away.

"I've been here for three years, nothing like this has happened before." the black-haired girl said. "I don't know if its for real or not, but just try to not to think about it too much, its probably nothing."

"Yeah, you're right..." the blond girl said. Her expression said otherwise however...

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- August 8, 2011 - 7:15 AM ~ Highland Academy -

Right on cue, the first bell rang to start the day, the doors to Highland Academy opened up to allow the gathering crowd of students to enter. There was a murmuring in the crowd about the text still, but since many students seemed to have not received the message, many were simply putting it aside to focus on more normal aspects of school life, such as finding their class room.

Highland Academy has a slightly different way of going about things. Rather than use a traditional grading system, students are organised into homeroom classes labeled A, B, C, D, and E. The students are organised to give a wide range of intellectual levels among the group, so that each class is varied. Students then learn at their own pace with help from the teacher as well as other students. Highland Academy is thus seen as a rather "progressive" school for taking such a different approach to education. So far, test scores have been promising. And all a student has to do to graduate is pass the graduation exam, the only qualifier of which is three years experience at the school, with each grade level at another high school counting as half a year at Highland Academy. The test can only be taken once per year however, and several students opt out of it on their third year to further study and prepare.

Homeroom classes stick together through the whole year, and many school activities pit the classes against each other. Strangely, most of the students who received the text message find themselves in Homeroom class C, a connection that does not escape the notice of the gossip groups that have already formed.

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- August 8, 2011 - 7:30 AM ~ Highland Academy Homeroom Class C -

The tardy bell rang out as the last few students raced into the door. To their relief, the teacher was not yet present, and so they rushed to the last few unoccupied seats before he or she arrived.

"Hey, that guy got the text too." a boy in the back row was saying.

"You don't think its just our class do you?" his friend said.

"But I didn't get it." a girl in the row in front of them said. "What do you..."

Before she could finish, the classroom door burst open and a rather energetic looking brown-haired woman who seemed to be in her late twenties rushed into the room with a large stack of books and papers, nearly spilling the entire stack in her rush. She wore a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt that seemed to be from a popular rock band. Over that, she wore a bright green jacket.

"Sorry I'm late class." she said as she simply dropped the large haphazard pile onto her desk with a loud thump. The noise woke up a student near the front who had been dosing off, and he nearly jumped out of his seat. A few students laughed before settling down as they realized the teacher was laughing too.

"Don't let me disturb you, if you're still tired please take a nap. Its still early." she said with a slight yawn and a smile. The boy seemed surprised, but he simply looked away, embarrassed.

"Now, let me introduce myself. My name is Mia Norfolk, but you guys can just call me "Teacher" or "Miss Mia", either is alright." she said as she struggled to find something in her massive pile of books and papers. A more average teacher might have written their name on the board during that time. Finally, she managed to pull a binder out of the stack and she flipped it open.

"Alright, now to call roll. Hopefully I'll get to learn your faces soon enough, but for now, I've got to rely on this thing." she said as she nearly waved the binder around as she pulled out a pencil.

She called out each student in no particular order, making a mark on her seating chart with each "here" that answered her.

Among the names called on her roll were Katherine Dyson, Zuri Watkinson, Hurley O’Keefe, Dyne Haruss, Warren Radway, Albert Storm, Evan Couer, Geoff Tinnay, Polaris Starr, and Celeste Raz.

"Alright class." Miss Mia said after the roll call. "Today's first lesson is simple, get to know each other!" she said with a smile. "After all, its good to know you're fellow students. Teamwork will help you not only in your studies, but in our quest for the Highland Acadamy Homeroom Award."

Her remark seemed to catch a few of the students off guard. "This is the year, I know it." she continued. "That Mr. Shakleford in Class B thinks he can win every year, we'll show him." she said, her eyes sparkling.

she turned back to the class. "Alright guys, from here till lunch we're going to be doing one big class activity, but first off why don't you guys stand up and introduce yourselves to your fellow classmates?" she said.

 

[GalladeX]

OOC: Yayz ^^

Evan Couer

Evan stood up, wanting to get the event over with.
"Hi. My name is Evan Couer," he began, and moved his hair out of his eyes. "I'm 16 years-old. I left my hometown for this Academy because of, er, certain events. My hobbies include reading manga and listening to my iPod. My favorite band is Three Days Grace, and my favorite song is Just Like You by the aforementioned band. My favorite colour is white. My favorite food is beef wellington. I'd kill Facebook if I could. The end," he finished sitting back down.

After hearing some kids mumble something about him being an Emo, he gave them a glare and settled back into his seat.

As he watched the next kid step to introuce themself, he began thinking about the wierd text message he got...

"Pfft," he thought bitterly, "probably just some stupid piece-of-crap junk message sent by one of these jerks."

END.

 

[muxiroger]

Dyne's snores echoed through his bedroom as his alarm sounded for a record 15th time. Finally, his mother busted through the door and smacked him over the head with a frying pan. "Get your *** out of bed! School starts in 10 minutes."

Dyne quickly grabbed a nearby book out of an unpacked box nearby and chucked it at the now closed door. "Mother of the year..." He yawned and looked over at the clock. "****...oh well, not like I haven't been late before. Weird *** dreams of a blue room..." He rambled on as he quickly got dressed and grabbed the keys to his ancient Chevy truck. He walked outside to his neon orange truck and slid into the driver's seat.

After a 10 minute drive, Dyne arrived at the academy. He slowly made his way to the office, trying to map the school out in his mind. He quickly straightened his schedule out and walked into classroom C. Coulda sworn I'd be a class E candidate... he slowly thought to himself. "Hey, teach sorry I'm late, and I won't say that it'll never happen again, because it probably will. I'm Dyne Haruss, so what's shakin?"

 

[Manaphy Mare]

~Hurley O'Keefe~

As the the teacher took attendance she called the name Hurley O'Keefe. A pink-haired teen in the back of the class raised his hand while his nose was buried in a book all about the bean sídhe, the banshee. Soon the teacher, who said she wouldn't mind being called Miss Mia, stated that the class's first assignment was to get to know each other.

A blond teen with a red streak in his hair stood up and said, "Hi. My name is Evan Couer," he began, and moved his hair out of his eyes. "I'm 16 years-old. I left my hometown for this Academy because of, er, certain events. My hobbies include reading manga and listening to my iPod. My favorite band is Three Days Grace, and my favorite song is Just Like You by the aforementioned band. My favorite colour is white. My favorite food is beef wellington. I'd kill Facebook if I could. The end."

Several students began to murmur about him being emo. Hurley, however, was not one of them. He knew how it felt to have others say things about you and judging you before they even got to know you.

Hurley stood up, ready to speak, when a teen barged in saying, "Hey, teach sorry I'm late, and I won't say that it'll never happen again, because it probably will. I'm Dyne Haruss, so what's shakin?"

Hurley sighed as he set down his book. "My name is Hurley O'Keefe, and I'm from Dublin. I transferred to this school due to several reasons. Some of my hobbies are singing, dancing, and playing the violin. I'm also a bit of a walking encyclopedia of Irish Mythology." He said cheerily; the smile gracing his lips was practically luminous.

As he sat down he heard murmurs from among the students. "Nerd." whispered several of the students. Others decided to call him a geek instead. The worst, in his opinion, was one girl, louder that the rest, saying, "Did you see his hair? He has to be gay. I mean no straight man would ever dye their hair that color." Those words tore at Hurley's heart and bruised his spirit. He quickly returned to his book, more to hide his tears. Not even ten minutes into the new school year and rumors were already beginning to spread.

"It's not a dye job, I was born with this hair color." He said meekly, but the girl either didn't hear him or didn't care. On top of it all there would probably be bullies ready to try to beat him up, and this time he didn't have his older brother to defend him.

 

[Ysavvryl]

Polaris Starr

It was an almost peaceful start of the day, without early arrivals of the daycare kids, who were cranky, not ready to let mom go yet, or wound up way too early. But then Polaris had other things to worry about: a weird dream with weird people (which was a bit stubborn about fading), a macabre text message on his phone (which numerous people had gotten, it seemed), a first day at a new school (which was almost alien compared to his previous public school experiences), a crowd of new faces, and other things. Not that it was abnormal for him to be worrying about things. So many new things were available to worry about, though. A single good thing would have to be the lack of a bus ride.

Thankfully, he had gotten up earlier than the others of the boys dorm and was able to take his time getting ready for the day in relative quiet. As the first bell approached, there was more activity and more noise. A lot of people were talking about the weird message. Some dismissed it as a strange prank, while others seemed genuinely unnerved. Polaris wasn’t sure what to think of it himself. Save for the entries beyond the blackout, any of that information could have come from an official school schedule.

But everyone around him was new to him, so Polaris wasn’t sure if he should speak up about it. He could just say that he got it, but what if it was some hoax that would get made fun of later? But if he didn’t say anything about it, would that make him a potential sender of that message? It was silly to think that he would do that, but someone might take it seriously.

Too late, he realized he wasn’t watching his steps and wound up stepping on someone’s foot. “Um, sorry,” he said to the guy. Thankfully, the blond haired guy didn’t seem too concerned and brushed it off to find some girl to strike up a conversation. Polaris just moved on to his homeroom.

Picking a desk at random, he wondered what was expected of him. He knew about their progressive program, but it still seemed a bit unreal. At his last school, morning homeroom was a time to chat with classmates or hurriedly finish up the day’s homework. It was different here. He pulled out a notebook and began doodling, a copy of the arch pattern on his brown shirt. It was bad that he’d been reduced to copying for doodles, he thought. For a moment, he considered doodling his classmates. But then that would be an awful way of introducing himself.

The teacher came in late. Miss Mia seemed enthusiastic, if disorganized. That was fine by Polaris; the one really organized teacher that he had met had been the one he hated the most. When she called for everyone to introduce themselves, he waited. He wanted a moment to collect himself so that he didn’t get flustered by something. First impressions; even if you could not trust that or the image the person projected, it was vital to leave a good first impression. It felt terribly hypocritical to think that, but then a lot of things seemed terribly hypocritical if you thought on them too long. The important thing was to not shake things up too much. Or was it to be yourself?

Dismissing that, he focused on his fellow students. He should at least show an interest in knowing who they were. Evan wanted to kill Facebook (something Polaris could sympathize with, although maybe not that strongly). Then someone called Dyne came in late, brushing it off as if he were cool despite it (which he might be). Then there was Hurley, from Dublin, who had some really neat interests and pink hair (apparently natural, which was interesting, even if others didn't think so). Miss Mia quietly chided the ones who were making fun of Hurley. It had been a shallow thing to do; they were probably doing it to hide something more embarrassing they had, which less obvious than pink hair.

Deciding it was as good a time as any, he decided to start his introduction. It might distract the shallow ones, since his name was somewhat embarrassing. But he'd grown a defense against that years ago. “Hi, I’m Polaris Starr. I like drawing and painting; I particularly like the Italian Renaissance artists, the Dutch masters, and the French Impressionists. I like classical music, but also sixties and seventies rock. I transferred out from the public high school, because it wasn’t that good.” And that was it, for now.

As he sat down, he wondered if he sounded like a dork there.

 

[Zincspider]

Geoff Tinney

Geoff was up at the crack of 6 to get ready for school. First day and all that jazz, ya know? He lifted himself out of his dorm bed, sweapt his hands through his orange hair once, and walked over to his small closet. He put on his best white button up (which looked like all of his others, but less wrinkled), his best black school jacket that struggled to not break over his wide shoulders (same as the shirt, here), and attemtped to comb his hair, but gave up when he couldn't get a good look at it in the mirror, no matter how much he contorted himself to get into the short peice of glass. He finally decided it was best off with the cowlick keeping the hair out of his eyes. Being done with getting dressed, Geoff attended to the task of making his own breakfast. Two eggs (Over-easy), and several strips of bacon (delicious).
Geoff complimented himself as he ate quietly. He had become quite good at cooking the last few years. His father had always cooked for the family, so when he died, he offered to take his place in the kitchen. Julia refused (she thought it should be her duty as the parent), but when Geoff moved to the dorm, he began cooking anyway by remembering what he saw his old man do.

During his meal, Geoff heard his phone ring it's announcement of either an incoming call or an old message (he couldn't tell the difference). He reached into his pocket and flipped the small blue device up to his ear.

"Hello, Geoff Tinney here," Geoff stated. After a few seconds there was no responce. "I said hello. Can ya hear me in there? Hello?," Geoff questioned calmly, his old country accent starting to sprout up. He took a look at the screen, and nearly laughed at himself. It was text. He had never gotten one of those before. He took a look at it and bellowed in laughter again. It wasn't for him anyway. It didn't make any sense!

Still, to comemerate the first text recieved on the phone, Geoff saved the message for later. Now it was time to get ready for school.

--

After Miss Mia walked in an introduced herself, Geoff smiled. She was a nice lady, she was pretty as well, and that didn't hurt her standing in his book. But she asked the class to introduce themselves. Geoff laid back and waited. There was always one point in this kind of thing where the willing are finished,a nd the unwilling need a little push to get going.

The fist kid seemed nice enough, even if he was one of those who tried what they could to be different. Geoff heard some of the kinds call him emo, and snorted. He wans't emo. He was one of the 'individuals' who acted like every other 'individual'. DOesn't make him a bad person or emo. His name was... Evan. That was it.

Next was a kid who was almost (not close enough, brother!) as big as Geoff was. He seemed like he wanted to run the whole class room. Geoff knew that he wasn't all talk. He seemed like he could do what he set his mind to. He was Dyne. Made Geoff think of steak.

The next kid was... overly sweet. Not somthing Geoff would usually say, but the guy just yelled 'I can make sparkles when I pee!'. His name was Hurley. And he had... was it Pink hair? Wow. Talk about the gamble of life.

After that was an energetic guy sitting right next to Geoff. He shouted that he liked art, music and older music, and sat back down as if he were embarased. Geoff shot him the 'thumbs up to assure him that he did not. He was Polaris (cool name. Kind of like a star).

After that, Geoff stood up. It seemed that he was the only one wanting to at the time.

"Um, Hi there y'all. My name is Geoff Tinney. I was originally from south Louisiana, and moved to New York later. I enjoy listening to birds in the morning, and playing a good video game every once in a while. I am not a vegetarian by any means, but kudos to you if you are. And I enjoy silence. Just some time to think."

Geoff sat down content. He noticed no one had anything to mutter at this point, unlike the other students. He guessed they were afraid he would squish them to a pulp if they did. Good thing he left out he wouldn't hurt a fly, or he was afraid of his own blood. The might have gotten him in trouble. Instead, he smiled, and waited for the next person to begin.

 

[TheSequelReturns]

OOC: For those of you who haven't posted yet, you can start off anywhere you like in the chain of events. Each post I make, I'm going to update what's happening with time and location tags, but that doesn't mean you have to start off where I leave off. Rather, just take your pick. Just try to keep up with everyone who has posted.

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- August 8, 2011 - 7:34 AM ~ Highland Academy Homeroom Class C -

Miss Mia smiled as Dyne came in the door. "Glad to know that I wasn't the last one to get here." she said before turning to Dyne. "Please, take any of the open seats."

After a few of the introductions, another boy stood up. Those in the back row would recognize him as the one who was asking about the text message. He seemed to be a little nervous, but he tried not to show it. He had short black hair and hazel eyes that went along with his mostly black clothing, but despite his dark style his smile seemed to be a kind one.

"Hey everyone, my name is Lucian Faraday. I'm really into rock music and I'm a pretty good guitar player, electric of course. Oh, and I'm a big movie watcher, especially action movies. And, that's all I guess." he said, looking relieved as he took his seat again.

After he took his seat, his friend shot him a grin which he returned. As another student got up to introduce himself, they started up a whispered conversation.

"So, what do you think?" his friend asked him.

"About what, the text?" Lucian said. "I wouldn't worry too much about it unless the power goes out tonight. Besides, you didn't get it so why are you so worried about it."

"I donno, I guess you're right." he said. "But what do you think of the teacher? Did we luck out or what?"

Lucian just sighed and ignored the other boy's grin. He looked away, focusing on a random spot on the wall, doing his best not to focus on one of the colorful posters that dotted the walls. His friend just shook his head as he muttered something and turned back towards the teacher.

 

[Torlen]

Albert Storm

Albert woke up that morning, thinking over the dream he had. There was no way that could logically have any impact on his morning - except to make him late. Hurriedly, he packed up all his things, had a quick something for breakfast, and rushed out to catch the bus. The school was bustling with people, all eager to get to their first class. Glancing down at the preparation paper in his hand, Albert saw that his classroom was room C - far down the hall.

He got to his class fairly early, taking respite in the fact there was only one or two other students. He sat at the far back, closest to the window. Content with the seat he chose, Albert pulled out a book and got lost within the old, musty pages as the classroom began to fill up.

Introductions. They were all the same. Albert believed a person couldn't be defined to a couple sentences - at least not most of them. He hated to judge, but glancing through the room and hearing kids viciously gossip about one another got to him. A few of the more popular girls who were already underway with their daily verbal abuse seemed to all fit the cookie cutter popular-kid shape. When the first few introductions were done with, the room was silent as some students looked to another to see if they'd be brave enough to stand.

Might as well get it over with. Albert sighed. This part was never easy. The less the other kids saw of him, the better... and so Albert stood, acne-covered face, thick-rimmed glasses and all, to deliver his judgment speech.

"Um," He started nervously. "I'm Albert Storm. I... like reading." Good. That's good enough. Sit down. The awkwardly tall teen's legs trembled as he sat down. Despite the embarrassing deliverance, the wake seemed quiet. He silently pleaded for the eyes to leave him and another victim to stand up.

His old, outdated phone rumbled in his pocket, and he pulled it out, away from prying eyes. The message was disturbing, and yet it was probably spam... Albert quickly turned his phone off and focused back up at Miss Mia.

 

[muxiroger]

Dyne looked around the classroom for an empty seat and found one. The guy named Geoff seemed pretty awesome, so he would be Dyne's neighbor for the class. Dyne sat on Geoff's left side, a window seat, and through his bag on the heating vent.

He leaned over and spoke to the big guy next to him. "What's goin on, man? You seem to be the only guy in this room who doesn't reek of dork."

Dyne could feel the heat already sweltering in the room. It was common for heat to effect him, since he was used to the cooler temperatures of the north. He quickly put up one finger to hault a response from Geoff and he arose to his feet and opened the window next to him. "If its not below 40 I'm not comfortable, ya'll might wanna bring jackets to class come winter time."

 

[Kiruria]

OOC: Though I myself am up to my neck in homework and chores, I shall fit in my first post at last.
IC:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As soon as the first sound stirred in the otherwise quiet morning, and as soon as a nearby lamp illuminated the dormitory, Zuri too let herself enter the bustle of the day. As she sat up, she paused, thinking of piano music and a world of blue, but it all began to fade away. As if by instinct, she reached over to her nightstand... but once again, instead of her dream journal, her hand touched a flat electronic device Zuri knew to be an "I-Phone", whatever that was. The girl in the bed next to hers had a habit of removing Zuri's dream journal and tossing it under her bed, then proceeding to place her precious I-Phone in its place.

In the sleekest and swiftest movement possible, Zuri slid off the bed, twirled around, and squatted down to look for the journal. She found it, dragging it out along with a pen, but by that time, the memory of the dream had already begun to fade away. Zuri could only remember one word, which she proceeded to write in her journal: "blue". "Some blue space," she added.

Though much gossip about the strange text message floated about the dormitory, even when Zuri went to take a shower, the only thought resting in Zuri's mind was how to approach the first day of school. How to make a good first impression and avoid saying something that would cause the homeroom to burst out laughing, what kind of new students might come, things like that. But Zuri wasn't entirely worried, nor very excited--she would approach this day just like any other.

Last year, Zuri remembered walking down the steps that led to the rest of the school, almost gliding, without any friends to accompany her. She proceeded to do the same on this day... but she was barely halfway down the flight of stairs when a familiar girl with brown ponytailed hair trotted down next to her and spoke.

"Hey Zuri, YOU didn't send that message, did you? I mean, you... well... urrgh, it's just been bothering me since I first received it!"

This was Cassie, the girl who slept in the bed next to hers, the girl with the I-Phone. Zuri knew her to be impatient, boisterous, and not very bright.

"Anyway," Cassie continued before Zuri could reply, "since when did you keep a sword under your bed?"

"A sword?" Zuri repeated, wondering what Cassie could be referring to. But after a brief thought, she remembered, and almost cracked a smile before continuing. "Oh, that's not a sword, it's a dagger."

"But isn't that, like, a knife? Aren't those, like, not allowed here?"

"Its edges are not very sharp," Zuri answered, sounding more distant than anything else. "It's merely an ornament, never to be used for harm."
She thought about explaining what an athame was, but figured she was too pressed for time to do so.

Cassie scoffed. "You liar. You know you'll use it on Randy if he ever gets near you. In fact, I'll bet you five big ones you'll need to take it out by next week."

Zuri, not wanting any more to do with this conversation, proceeded towards homeroom, walking a bit more briskly. Once she reached Homeroom C, she picked a seat near the front corner of the classroom. This was the same homeroom she had last year, so she knew about Miss Mia's habit of coming in late. Cassie, who also had the same homeroom, would usually sit with a group of her friends near the back of the room. But this time, she chose the seat right next to Zuri. Oddly, though, she didn't strike up a conversation; instead she started twiddling her thumbs, gazing with uncertainty at the blackboard. What was with her? Had the mysterious text message possessed her or something?

Just as Zuri expected, Miss Mia came in, late as usual, and tried to get herself organised. But the way she started out the class was not the same as last year, where she just let the students get an extra fifteen minutes of sleep while she herself dozed off. This time, she took roll straight away, and Zuri could easily tell because almost immediately Cassie shouted, "Here!" (Her last name was Abbey, so she was always first on the roll sheet.) After much waiting, Mia finally called out Zuri's name, which was of course near the end of the roll. Afterwards, Mia had everybody introduce themselves.

The introductions seemed to go in a random order, much unlike the roll. When it came Zuri's turn, she turned around to face most of the students, and spoke up.

"My name is Zuri Watkinson, for those of you who weren't paying attention to the roll call," she explained, sounding calm as usual. She had learned after last year to speak a little louder so that people could hear. "This is my second year here at Highland. I'm from Honeybrook, which is very close to here. Although I too enjoy reading, I don't study too hard. I have a special fondness for myths and folk tales and fantasy stories."

"Plus she doesn't know how to use a computer," a nearby boy blurted out.

"She doesn't even know what Youtube is," another boy laughed.

I keep hearing that term, "Youtube", Zuri thought, amidst all the silent commotion, but I never did find out what it is. At first it sounded like it was a drug of some sort, but now I'm not so sure. Then again, it could be related to Facebook?

All the other introductions passed, and the most Zuri did in response to any of them was nod in acknowledgement. She wasn't one to tease anybody, for doing so invited bad karma, and made one feel guilty afterwards. It had the same feeling as putting a curse on someone, which Zuri still reserved a bit of regret for to this day. Yet while listening to all the introductions, Zuri's thoughts drifted occasionally to the athame Cassie had mentioned. How would the school react if they found out about it? Fortunately though, one thing Zuri knew about Cassie was that she was good at keeping secrets. She hoped that would still hold true now...

 

[greywolf123]

Yawning. That was an utterly unexciting thing to do to start the day, yet that was how Warren did. Perhaps that was a good sign, he wanted this day to be utterly unexciting. First days were rarely exciting because they were supposed to be. Heck, his first night here had brought him a rather odd dream. He couldn't remember much of it, actually, but, he remembered it was weird. And that he did something very odd. As he thought about it more, the more fuzzy it got, until all he was sure about was that he'd done something big, in the dream at least, and that there was lots of velvet. What an odd dream indeed.

However, that was topped quite easily by the text he soon got on his phone. It seemed normal, save for the rather strange text, until the end, where it both predicted a blackout, and the death of two people, twisted inside out. Which gave him a few gruesome mental images. He shuddered slightly, before shaking his head, nodding to himself and putting it away. Nah, this just had to be some freshman initiation thing, they would send it out, and try to get all the gullible newbies.

However, upon leaving, showering brushing and just general cleaning himself up, he found that it was not, in fact, the case. That or they were very good. He sighed slightly, as he looked at it again, especially after hearing that only a few students got it. He figured that he wouldn't speak much on it. It would only draw unwanted attention. Best to be quiet and unassuming for now. Didn't want to make enemies on his first day here.

However, he hadn't managed to have much luck getting to class on time. He was absolutely bewildered by this place for a moment, the class he was looking for was nowhere to be found! Eventually he realized he was in the wrong wing, and departed in shame, but it didn't help much. He was definitely late, as he entered class. "Sorry miss...I got lost." He said, blushing slightly in shame as he found an empty seat and sat down in it. He didn't know who he was by, but that didn't matter.

He was more concerned with absorbing himself into the seat and not making any more of a fool of himself. Had to act normal though, couldn't be blushing so much. Warren managed to slowly ease himself down, and look less mortified at himself.

 

[Aura Wolfe]

Celeste sat up abruptly, for a moment expecting to see a world of blue before realising she was in the hotel room that she’d fallen asleep in. Compared to what she was used to, this room was extremely drab. Surprisingly on a too hard bed, she’d slept rather well. Celeste cast her mind back for a moment, to the weird dream she’d had. Every detail seemed to have been burned into her brain. She shrugged then grabbed her mobile which was laying on the bedside table, to see if there were any new messages. There was one, that had been received at 12.00am with a list of things that were supposed to happen today. The first three things were quite normal but the second two…

“There is nothing to back it up. It is probably just some really bad prank to try and make people worry.” Celeste said aloud as the door opened.

“Mornin’ C.” Stefan said as he walked inside, already dressed in the punk rocker clothes he loved so much.

Stefan was Celeste’s older brother and had looked like their mother. He had dark brown skin, dark brown eyes and a flat nose. He’d never been able to tolerate the amount of order that her family loved, so he’d run away from home when he was 15. Still, he had his amethyst earring and two gold hoops in his ear and his gold and amethyst necklace and was wearing. Celeste fingered her own necklace, the same make but in silver then put in her silver hoops and amethyst earrings.

“Good morning Stefan.” Celeste said, throwing off the blanket and stretching. “Let me get dressed first, then we will have breakfast.”

“Hey it’s not like I haven’t seen by little sister naked before.” He protested, but he backed out of the room anyway.

“It is common courtesy Stefan.”

The door closed and Celeste walked over to her bag to pick out what she was going to wear that day. She pulled out her current favourite green top and jeans along with the various accessories that went with them. It didn’t take Celeste long to get dressed properly/do her hair etc – she was used to having to change quickly.

“All right.” Celeste said, opening the door again. “I am decent.”

The two hurried down to Stefan’s old ute which was littered with old soft drink bottles and smelled of mint chewing gum (Stefan loved the stuff) and got on the road, seeing as it was still another half an hour drive to school. In minutes, the two were singing along to ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ by Queen.

At about this time, the local animal protection agency had several calls about a pair of cats in extreme pain. Either than or just wailing on the top of their lungs.

Half an hour later, Stefan pulled up outside of the school. Celeste grabbed her surprisingly small bag (she figured that instead of lugging a bunch of clothes over, she could always just go shopping when she got here) and the note explaining why she hadn’t stayed in the dormitory last night.

“Celeste…” Stefan said just as she about to say goodbye and head up to the school. “I was thinking that maybe you could live with me for a month or two after you finish school. You haven’t experienced anything like I have, and without the knowledge of how normal people -”

“Normal people.” Celeste said flatly, her eyes narrowing.

“Oh you know what I mean.” Stefan said hastily. “People who don’t think that a necklace with twenty high quality diamonds is normal. Anyway, with out that sort of knowledge, you can’t make a proper decision as to which kind of life you want to lead. I’ll work it out with Mum and Dad for ya. Just think about it please?” He added, seeing Celeste’s expression.

Celeste just nodded blankly. “Bye Stefan. I’ll email you.”

Stefan waved and drove away in his dump of a car. It didn’t take long to find the reception and give the explaining note to the receptionist. Celeste was then bombarded with information, seeing as she was new. Apparently she was in Homeroom C with Miss Mia Norfolk as the teacher. Her dormitory was number 13, with another girl whom she didn’t really know the name of. Maps, ideal pathways to each of her classes, what to do if she got lost, where the school councilor was… all that was thrust to Celeste in one huge chaotic mess of paper.

So it was a rather dazed and overwhelmed Celeste that made her way towards dormitory 13. Sure, she was used to dealing with lots of information at once, but not in one giant mess.

Dormitory 13 was very unextraordinary. So lacking in luxury that what it looked like will not be recorded. Ever. Inside was a cute looking girl with big brown eyes and long blond hair. She was still in her pajamas, pink and purple with bunny’s on it, along with matching slippers. She practically tackled Celeste to the ground in a greeting.

“OHMYGOD!!! YOU’RE CELESTE!!!!! I’M EMMA!!!*squee* I LOVE YOUR TOP!!!! IT’S SOOO CUTE!!! *squee* WE’RE GOING TO BE BFF’S!!!!!!” Emma squealed while death hugging Celeste.

“Would you kindly refrain from touching me Emma?” Celeste almost hissed, her voice dripping with menace.

Emma let go, pouting as she did then launched into a complex gossip session which Celeste didn’t even try and bother keeping up with. Maybe she could organize a room change…

***
Thanks to the map, Celeste had no trouble at all finding homeroom C. Naturally, she was the first person there, looking completely civilized in comparison to some of the other members of the class. It was a while until the teacher, Miss Mia Norfolk entered in a disarray. Celeste sniffed. A teacher should be organized, to set an example to his/her students. She did seem rather nice though, which was good. The first thing they were going to be doing put Celeste off however.

One after another, each student stood up, some confidently, others not saying more than a few words. After a rather embarrassed boy entered the class and took the empty seat next to Celeste, she decided to introduce herself and rose with as much grace as she could muster.

“Hello all. My name is Celeste Raz and it would be my first year here at Highland Academy.” She said regally. “I have two brothers, one older, one younger and live in our estate several hours away from here.” There, that should be enough.

Celeste sat down gracefully again, ignoring the few murmurs that went around the class but as soon as the next person had stood up to introduce themselves, Celeste’s cheeks were burning.

 

[Manaphy Mare]

~*~Hurley O'Keefe~*~

“Hi, I’m Polaris Starr. I like drawing and painting; I particularly like the Italian Renaissance artists, the Dutch masters, and the French Impressionists. I like classical music, but also sixties and seventies rock. I transferred out from the public high school, because it wasn’t that good.” said one of the students. His hair was dark brown with red highlights. He seemed quite interesting to Hurley.

"Um," the next student started nervously. "I'm Albert Storm. I... like reading."

Next was a girl right in fromt of Hurley who stood up and said, "My name is Zuri Watkinson, for those of you who weren't paying attention to the roll call," she explained, sounding calm. "This is my second year here at Highland. I'm from Honeybrook, which is very close to here. Although I too enjoy reading, I don't study too hard. I have a special fondness for myths and folk tales and fantasy stories." Much like Hurley she had an interesting hair color, she seemed to be a platinum blond.

Hurley didn't pay attention to the two boys who began to talk about her. He turned to Zuri and said, "Hey, um. I have a few books on various aos sí and other mythological figures of ancient Ireland. You could borrow them if you'd like." His voice was kind and his eyes and face showed his gentle, caring nature as he continued, "I was actually reading a book about the Bean Sídhe, er.. Banshees, but you can borrow it if you want." He held up the book he had been reading earlier, titled The Bean Sídhe, Aos Sí of Fate.

 

[TheSequelReturns]

- August 8, 2011 - 7:37 AM ~ Highland Academy Homeroom Class C -

Mia couldn't help but grin as Warren entered the classroom. "Another one? Wow, I did pretty good this year." she said with a laugh before directing Warren to the last open seat.

After the introductions were finished, Miss Mia took a moment to dig through her assorted pile of books and papers before finally grabbing what appeared to be a DVD case out of a binder. The case was unlabeled, so it was obviously not a store-bought DVD.

"Alright class," she said with another yawn, "It seems that I can't find the key to the book closet today, so we'll be watching a movie instead. Sound good?"

A few students cheered or clapped, most just smiled and starting talking to each other in hushed voices. Miss Mia took a moment to fiddle with the computer and the overhead projector before starting the movie. She spent the entire movie time trying in vain to organize her paper collection before lunch time. It turned out to be a fairly popular comedy movie, an especially easy way to start off your first few hours of school.

-------------------------------------------------

- August 8, 2011 - 10:55 AM ~ Highland Academy Homeroom Class C -

After the movie ended, Miss Mia gave the students some free time saying that she would find the book locker key during lunch break. Luckily, Homerooms A and C had first lunch this semester, so that meant that lunch would be served promptly at 11:00 AM. A few minutes before, the little musical chime came across the school's intercom system for the first time this year and a gruff but friendly sounding voice came across the speakers.

"Ahem, good afternoon Highland Acadamy students. This is your principal speaking. I just wanted to welcome you all to the new year, and wish you all success in your studies this semester. In a few moments, the first lunch bell will ring. Let's see... looks like homerooms A and C have first lunch this semester."

A few cheers from the students, and even from Miss Mia.

"When the bell rings, students in Homerooms A and C should head to the cafeteria. The cafeteria is located right at the end of the main hall, just past the office and the entrance doors. Well then..."

Before the principal could finish his last sentence, the bell rang out in the halls and the class erupted into chaos as the students tried to get out of the class in time to beat homeroom A to the cafeteria, gossiping loudly the entire way. Whatever the principal was going to say was lost in the din.

---------------------------------------------------

- August 8, 2011 - 11:00 AM ~ Highland Academy Cafeteria -

The cafeteria was already getting packed before even a minute passed. Most students were in too much of a hurry to get in one of the two lunch lines before it got too packed to notice the significance of today's menu. In fact, the lunch menu for today was fired chicken, white rice and gravy, a choice of a vegetable, and chocolate pudding. A few students did take notice that the menu was just like the text said, but their hushed conversations didn't spread far in the dull roar of everyone's gossip.

All across the room, students were already filling into the long tables with the friend groups that they formed in the short time before lunch. As a result of this, the two homerooms were sitting on opposite sides of the lunchroom for the most part, except for those who either didn't have a group yet or knew someone in the other room.

Miss Mia, as promised, was off at the office asking about getting a spare key for the book locker. Lucian and the guy and girl he had been talking too earlier sat together at the end of one of the long tables near the far wall, Lucian was the only one who noticed the text message's prediction, seeing as the other two never actually read it, but he kept this to himself. It was probably better to just enjoy this time while it lasts.

 

[muxiroger]

While Dyne was dozing through the movie something occured to him, he still hadn't moved into his dorm yet. I should probably do that... He decided he would start with a simple offering. He thought that if he offered a free dinner, then perhaps he could get some help getting moved in. I think I'll start with the big guy next to me and nervous guy over there.

Dyne grabbed Warren and asked them both seperately the same question. "Nervous guy, how would you like to have dinner on me tonight? I need some help moving into my dorm, and you're the first person I found." As soon as he finished he saw the slightly larger Geoff and made the same proposition. "Geoff, right? I'll buy dinner if you can help me get moved into my dorm today. I just moved into town yesterday, and I don't even know where I'm stayin'"

 

[Aura Wolfe]

After everyone had finished introducing themselves, Miss Norfolk started digging around her mess of papers and books, then produced a DVD, claiming that she couldn’t find the key to the book cupboard so they would watch a movie instead. Celeste sighed. Miss Norfolk was certainly not her ideal teacher, nice as she seemed to be.

The movie was one that Celeste had watched with Tyson, her younger brother. It was also one that, while funny, didn’t keep her attention for very long. Three minutes into the movie and she had already dug her Sudoku book out of her bag, working on yet another puzzle.

***

Halfway through the movie, Celeste ran out of puzzles. She would need a new one later. All around her, the room was hushed, with the occasional giggle from someone. She honestly tried to watch the movie but like the first time she’d seen it, her mind soon began to wander.

That dream… Celeste thought. It was the strangest I think I have ever had. Normally my dreams contain something more than just saying a few lines… But it was nonsense of course. Just a strange dream.

I wonder who sent me that text message? The Oracle? What kind of a name is that? It is a pretty strange and weird prank to play on people. Maybe it is just to make the whole school on edge for the day. Yes, it would have to be something like that.

Then, the credits rolled and Miss Norfolk turned the lights back on, announcing that she would look for the book cupboard key at lunch, so they had free time. The rest of the class emersed themselves in talking to each other. Celeste simply studied the other students, taking them in, trying to see their personality through what they wore. Her parents had told her that she needed to make some friends, and should try to get to know the people in her homeroom. Some people really didn’t look like the kind of people she wanted to mix with, like the one’s who’d dyed their hair, or had nose rings. The two massive teenage boys in the class scared her a little. Her mother had warned her to watch people who could probably crush you into nothing without breaking a sweat. While she tried to be open, Celeste soon found herself pointing out the smallest thing that she didn’t seem to like about a person and making it fill her whole mind. She sighed. This whole friend making thing might be far more difficult than she had thought.

A musical chime came from the speakers, and a gruff voice announced that homerooms A and C would have lunch first. Celeste nearly cried out in joy with some other people, though not for the same reasons. Emma was in B. The principal continued to talk for a moment, then the bell rung and his voice was droned out by the chatter of everyone who was ready to head to lunch. Celeste waited for a moment, to let the general crowd die away, then gathered her things and headed down the cafeteria (which is also in the same state as the dormitory, so thereby shall have the same kind of treatment).

Most of the people from A and C were already seated, and the line was massive, but Celeste was hungry and cued up anyway. She received fired chicken, white rice and gravy, corn, and chocolate pudding. Which was pretty much what that text message had said. Once Celeste had her food, she glanced around the almost completely full cafeteria, searching for an empty seat, preferablely one away from people. Unfortunately, taking her time getting down seemed have meant that Celeste had no choice but to sit down next to one of the boys in her class. She didn’t say anything to him, unsure of if she should say something and if so, what to say? She’d never been tacticful with this kind of stuff.

 

[Manaphy Mare]

OOC: Kiruria, you can bunny Hurley in your next post. He'd probably try to become friends with Zuri.

IC:

~*~Hurley O'Keefe~*~

Hurley walked out of the classroom and towards the cafeteria as his class went to lunch. The moment he entered the cafeteria he froze, realizing what had been served. His mind began to race with possible reasons for the occurrence, but it kept going back to what the person called them self. 'The Oracle... What could it mean?' He soon remembered a few of his books that mentioned clairvoyance.

He quickly made his way back to his dorm, intent on finding a few books that could possibly hold answers. When he arrived he went straight for his small bookcase and quickly pulled out several books about the aos sí and various oracles from around the world, including the Oracle of Delphi. He soon returned to the cafeteria, luckily hes still had a few minutes to get lunch and eat it. He looked around in hopes of finding Zuri and siting next to her. Luckily for him he spotted her soon and said, "Hey, Mind if I sit here? I brought a few books with me." He held up the books he had grabbed in his dorm.

 

[Ysavvryl]

After he sat down for lunch, Polaris took out his phone and checked it. It had a cover with the yellow swirl from Starry Night, so it was fairly distinctive. The red light was blinking, indicating a new message. He checked and saw that creepy message from this morning again. It had the right time for lunch too, considering that many of the recipients were apparently in his homeroom. Again, it was a schedule that could be checked, so it was probably just to unnerve people. Unless the sender was willing to go so far as to cut the power him/herself.

Anyhow, the new message was from Archie. He had been a good friend since kindergarten, the sort of friend that you always got into intense competitions against. Arguments, even. But the rivalry was never enough to keep them from hanging out together, even with a competition coming up or a bet going on. Wondering what it was now, Polaris read it.

‘Hey man, I’ve got early lunch this year! Nyah nyah. Then I’ve got textiles after lunch. Bleh.’

Polaris smiled. Oh geez, textiles… that one time they had taken a summer school course in textiles, Archie had complained nearly the whole time about weaving. They weren’t in it to be fashion designers or something, so he kept saying. Polaris hadn’t minded the looms and yarn so much, but he still preferred painting. He sent back a quick message.

‘I’ve got early lunch too, hah! I don’t know what I’m studying, but not textiles, that’s for sure.’

Setting his phone on the table (Archie probably would reply), he let his mind drift while eating, until somebody interrupted his thoughts. It was a brown haired girl sitting down near him… that was Celeste, he recalled, the one who lived on an estate. Yeah, well above his parents’ combined income bracket. She wore two necklaces, both looking rather pricy to be wearing to school. Same for her earrings and bracelets. His one amber-colored earring was probably cubic zirconium, but he didn’t care.

But it didn’t seem right to be having lunch without chatting to somebody. “Hi Celeste,” he said, smiling some. He wasn’t sure what exactly to talk with her about, so went for the most obvious. “That’s a nice antique necklace you have. Very classical. Is it European? It has that kind of design to it.”

((OoC: I couldn't tell from the description of the necklace, so I guessed.))

 

[muxiroger]

Dyne eventually made his way into the lunchroom. All this texting talk or whatever is kinda freaking me out. I might as well check my phone to see if I got one too. Dyne eventually pulled out his phone. It was a black Samsung Intensity with orange trim along the center button and a grey battery cover on the back. It was the only phone he could afford when he set up his new account yesterday.

As his phone booted up he managed to see a message awaiting his approval.
New Text Message
Oracle
12:00 a.m.

Okay, thats definetly weird...I shut my phone off last night when I passed out. There is no way I recieved a message at midnight when my power wasn't even on. Damn technology. I better return this thing after classes. What does this thing say anyway?

TodAy's evEnTS are AS FoLLOWs. :;

at 7:15 Am: Highland Academy Boarding School oPENS Its Doors To StarT tHe neW Year.

at 11:00 aM: FirsT lunch wiLl be serVed. Today's Menu includes ricE, ChiCken, and chocOlatE puDDing.

at 2:45 pm: Highland Acadamy's FirsT day will end with the sounding of the FinAL BELL.

at 9:12 PM: A blackOUt wILL hit the ENtirE dowNTown ARea.

at 11:39 pM: the blacKouT will enD. TwO fATALities WIll be Attributed to UNKNOWN causeS. The vicTimS BodIES will be Found tWistED InsidE ouT.

haVe a Nice DAy...

Dyne's nose then got the better of him as he smelled the chicken. "Yo, lunchlady! Why the hell did you send me a text message last night?! It had to be you! You are the only one who knew what we were having for lunch! Why the hell did you use a name like Oracle?! And how the hell did you get my number, when I only activated my phone yesterday!"

Without waiting for a response Dyne grabbed a tray and through a large chicken breast, two ladles of green beans, and another ladle full of pudding and walked off. He found Polaris and Celeste sitting at one table and decided to join them. Why the hell not. Not like they could make this any more uncomfortable. God, I hate meeting people! Why the hell did my dumb *** get thrown out of Bridgeport anyway! I liked that place. Their football team was actually good...DAMMIT!!!

He found himself muttering slightly louder than a whisper as he approached the back table. "Weird text messages...weird blue rooms...weird *** guy who acted like he was my grandpa or somethin..." He looked up for a second to aknowledge the two he had chosen to sit with. "Hey, you guys care if I grab a seat here with ya'll?

 

[GalladeX]

Evan Couer

Evan waited until the mob of hungry students left the classroom before heading to the cafeateria. No use getting trampled right? After he went to the cafeteria, he looked at the menu. He froze. It was the same as in the text message.

"They probably just hacked the school network if anything," he mumbled to himself before grabbing his meal.

Ignoring the trivial gossip around him, Evan sat down on a chair. He pulled out a Harry Potter book he found at the library, and began reading. He turned when he heard Dynne's outburst, and glared at the loud person.

"Who yells at a lunchlady?" he mumbled.

He thought again about how the meal was the same as the text message. Then he thought about the strange fatalities reported in the text message. He reviewed the text again, double checking everything.

Gee, he thought, hope it isn't me.

Done.